A power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium on the Florida State University campus disrupted the FSU-SMU American football game on Monday evening, forcing both teams off the field and eventually stripping the match of all in-game electronic communication. Officials from both universities, along with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, held repeated meetings to decide whether to proceed, ultimately choosing to play on rather than reschedule, given the logistical difficulties of rearranging fixtures for both sides later in the week or season.

The lights failed around the scheduled 7:39pm ET kick-off, sending both teams back to their locker rooms while fans were entertained by impromptu games and the marching band. After a third meeting at 8:45pm ET, officials decided to proceed without helmet radios, coordinator communication or sideline iPads, requiring coaches and officials to resort to hand signals. SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee noted his team had not played without coach-to-quarterback communication in over two years, while Florida State's Mike Norvell, already under pressure this season, faced the same handicap.